WITH Christmas over and the New Year passed, cricketers are reflecting, resetting and looking forward to the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
The halfway point has been reached in the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association’s first-grade competition, giving the clearest indication yet as to where teams stand, and their chances of making finals in two months’ time.
Here’s our analysis of all eight teams heading into the season’s resumption this weekend.
Collegians (seven wins, one loss)
CURRENTLY atop the First XI ladder, Collegians have affirmed their position as title favourites with just the one loss across eight rounds.
Their players have excelled on all fronts, accumulating more runs (1673) and taking more wickets (95) than any other team.
Opening batsman and captain Zac Hurley is the top run-scorer for both his side and the competition: 340 runs at an average of 42.5.
His fellow opener, Tom Morrison is narrowly behind with 332 runs and an average of 41.5.
Henry Anderson, following his 59 against Bundalaguah, sits just outside the competition’s top 10 highest scorers with 211 runs, averaging 30.14.
Their bowling attack is just as strong, with Hurley’s younger brother Noah being the top wicket-taker among his teammates and his first-grade peers. He has 30 wickets in-all, including four five-wicket hauls.
Next on the list is Jake Durnell with 17 wickets, placing him at equal-sixth in the competition overall; and Nathan Whitford with 16, good enough for equal-eighth.
If their form can continue – and it surely will – the College boys have more than a fair shot of reaching the Grand Final come March 18.
Of concern is that Collegians’ sole defeat has come at home against Stratford – the reigning first-grade champions, and the team they’re most likely to face should they reach the decider.
Stratford (seven wins, one loss)
IN second place is Stratford, who are well-poised to claim their third premiership in a row.
While their number of victories is equal with Collegians, the Redbacks have conceded more runs and thus find themselves behind on percentage – 1.709 versus 2.345.
But, they have lost the least wickets of any side at 60.
Opener Chris Aurisch is their leading run-maker (296, averaging 49.33) and is third overall in the competition, despite a succession of low totals in recent weeks.
All-rounder and captain Jack Rietschel has also done well with the bat (228 runs, averaging 32.57) yet is doing even better with the ball.
Rietschel has taken 17 wickets, more than any other Redback, to place him within the top five wicket-takers in the competition.
In fairness, he has played more games than his fellow bowlers, with the likes of Zane Waixel (14 wickets) having played in seven of the eight rounds and Jack Tatterson (15 wickets) having played in just six.
There are some worries for the side, namely third-placed Sale, a team they lost to in Round 7 – they’ll face-off again at Sale Oval in Round 11 later this month.
Additionally, they yielded 156 runs to eighth-placed Boisdale-Briagolong last round, the latter’s best innings total in either one or two-day format this season.
Could this be a sign of hard times ahead for Stratford?
Sale (six wins, two losses)
FOLLOWING an unremarkable start to their season, Sale are presently third-placed on the ladder.
The Swans have two defeats to their name, both of which occurred within the first three rounds of the season.
Their first came in Round 2 against Collegians, who are at present the leader-leaders; the second in Round 3 versus Bundalaguah, who sit fifth on the ladder.
Importantly, they have not put a foot wrong since.
Much of their success is owed to South African imports Coenie Nel and Garreth Wolmarans, both of whom have been effused about consistently by this reporter in recent weeks.
The former has made 264 runs and taken 16 wickets; the latter, in just five rounds, is averaging 43 with the bat and 9.27 with the ball with 11 wickets.
Don’t be surprised if they get a belated Test call-up from the Proteas.
Other key performers include Nathan Massey (299 runs, averaging 59.8), bowler Matt Raidal (12 wickets, best figures 3/25) and all-rounder Ben Jones (207 runs, 18 wickets).
A victory over Stratford in the seventh round saw Sale dubbed the “real deal” by our editor and cricket tragic, Liam Durkin, who at the time believed they had the potential to go all the way.
We’ll know for certain when the Swans meet Collegians again come Round 13 in February.
Rosedale-Kilmany (four wins, three losses, one draw)
WHILE some are citing Sale as the dark horse of the 2022/23 competition, in this reporter’s eye, that title belongs to the Warriors.
As with the Swans, Rosedale-Kilmany’s season began in unassuming fashion; but after three consecutive victories – including a key win over Maffra – they now find themselves comfortably seated in fourth.
That position has been bolstered by them conceding the least runs of any first-grade team – 1061, which is 50 less than Collegians’ 1111 and a remarkable 171 less than Stratford’s 1232.
They’ve also participated in the season’s only draw, which saw play abandoned due to unfavourable conditions at their home ground.
Rohan Diamond has been RK’s best with the bat, making 274 runs – including 88 last round against Longford – at an average of 34.25.
Yet it is the bowlers who have truly shone for the Warriors, with all-rounder and captain Isaac Love having snared 13 victims, and Nathan Hangan claiming 18 scalps across six innings.
While they are presently in a good position, RK have a hard road ahead if they are to become the 2022/23 premiers.
The squad’s three losses so far have all come against the top three teams, and they’ll need to beat at least one of those teams to cement their place in the finals.
That is, provided one of the teams below doesn’t cause an upset.
Bundalaguah (three wins, four losses, one draw)
HEADING into the lower rungs of the ladder is Bundalaguah, whose First XI have had more than their fair share of ups and downs.
Victories early in the season, including a triumph over Sale in Round 3, saw the Bulls etched into the top four, before a drawn match against Rosedale-Kilmany in Round 4 sent them plummeting to sixth position.
Bundy has reclaimed some ground since then, thanks to a win against Boisdale-Briagolong and Maffra’s seventh-round misfortune, yet will need everything to fall in their favour over the next month if they are to make finals.
Such a scenario is not outside the realms of possibility, and they have the talent to make it happen.
Steve Spoljaric has led the charge for much of this season, amassing 295 runs and 17 wickets – the best of any Bull, and the fifth-best in the competition overall in both regards.
Behind him is fellow all-rounder Kshitiz Sharma, who has posted the highest score of any first-grade cricketer so far – 112 against Maffra in Round 5 – and snared 13 wickets, including a five-wicket haul against Collegians in Round 6.
Other heavy-hitters to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead include captain Jason Langshaw (50 made against Sale in Round 3) and Gayashan Munasinghe (nine wickets, best figures 3/40).
Maffra (three wins, five losses)
IT’S unlikely that anybody saw this coming, least of all the team in question.
Glory for Maffra has been elusive, with calamity outweighing success – they’ve been trounced by their competitors on no less than five occasions, and done the trouncing in two others.
The Eagles’ only conceivably ‘close’ game came against Bundalaguah in Round 5, where they won on first-innings by a margin of 11 runs.
If there is some consolation for the side, it’s that they’re at no risk of being the wooden-spooners – the gulf between Maffra and the bottom-two clubs, in terms of points and percentage, is considerable.
Additionally, with 12 points between them and Rosedale-Kilmany, and just two separating them from Bundalaguah, the Eagles are still in contention for a finals berth.
In terms of their stars, Dylan Freitag has been Maffra’s unsung hero for much of the season.
The paceman has collected 13 wickets in seven innings for the club, but has also proven handy with the bat – 112 runs, averaging 22.4, with a high score of 33 not out against Sale.
Other bowlers who have impressed are Andrew McKenzie (12 wickets, best 5/11 versus Longford) and Jake Pendrick (11 wickets, best 4/23 versus Sale).
The Eagles’ best batsman, meanwhile, has been their captain Lee Hopkins with 250 runs, followed by wicket-keeper Nathan Hibbins with 161.
Longford (one win, seven losses)
REMARKABLY, the long-suffering Lizards are not at the bottom of the first-grade ladder.
Longford are instead in seventh place which, for a team that has won just two games in the past three seasons, is a significant feat.
The arrival of Jordan Price has undoubtedly lifted the team’s standing – since joining Longford in Round 5, the British import has risen to become their most-prolific wicket-taker (13 victims so far) and strongest batsman (152 runs in eight innings).
He was also key in their sole victory of the season, taking five wickets and making 44 runs in the second innings of their clash against Boisdale-Briagolong.
Jake Wynd is another strong, consistent performer for the club, collecting more runs (165) than any other batter, and posting the highest individual score (72 not out versus Rosedale-Kilmany).
Though they have shown promise, Longford’s collective statistics are nothing to brag about.
The Lizards have posted the least amount of runs (1074), lost the most batsmen (114) and taken the least wickets (64) of the eight First XI squads, and also have the lowest percentage.
Unless they can defeat Boisdale-Briagolong for a second time in Round 9, Longford risk demoting themselves to the wooden spoon once again.
Boisdale-Briagolong (zero wins, eight losses)
PLACED in the unenviable position of last is Boisdale-Briagolong.
For a side with exactly zero victories to boast this season, one would expect the Saints’ figures and scorecards to make for dismal reading.
Blessedly for all involved, there are some rays of light within.
The B-Doubles (as nobody is calling them, save for yours truly) are second in terms of wickets lost (101), but fifth in terms of wickets taken (74) in the season so far.
They have the most runs scored against them (1503), yet are fourth in regard to runs accumulated (1307).
They also possess a better percentage than seventh-placed Longford – 0.637 versus the Lizards’ 0.418.
Skipper and all-rounder Dylan Bolton is by far and away their best player, his 270 runs – including two half-centuries – making him the seventh-highest scorer in the competition.
His bowling has also impressed, with 26 wickets (second only to Collegians’ Noah Hurley) and two ‘five-fas’.
With figures like that, it’s no wonder Bolton is also captaining the Sale-Maffra representative side.
